We did it. We made it through 2020. A new year is now upon us.
Usually, New Year is just a formality. However, this time is different. I’ve already highlighted why. I don’t want to belabor it again. Most of us with news feeds already know why 2020 sucked so much.
Instead of harping on how rough the previous year was, I just want to look ahead to 2021. It’s definitely going to be a year of rebuilding. We have a long road ahead of us, but we definitely have the tools to make 2021 much better than 2020. The bar for improvement is very low, but let’s not settle for less.
Today, let’s all just take a step back, take a deep breath, and take some satisfaction in that we made it this far. Quite a few poor souls weren’t as lucky. Let’s acknowledge and honor those who didn’t make it by making 2021 the best year it can possibly be.
Again, the bar is very low. Let’s still put in the extra work. If every there was a year to overcompensate, it’s this one.
In any other year, we would use this as an opportunity to wish everyone a happy New Year and to share our New Years plans. This is not just any other year. This is 2020 and it has been historically hellish for reasons that would take too long to list. Now, it’s almost over.
We’ve made it this far. We’ve endured horrible story after horrible story. We navigated times in which time seemed to slow to a crawl. For some, it’s been a special kind of terrible. Let’s at least acknowledge that doctors and front line health care workers have had it the worst.
Now, I know the end of 2020 doesn’t mean an automatic end to everything that made it so awful. There’s still work to be done. We’re still a long way from anything resembling a better world.
If nothing else, 2020 has set the bar so laughably low for improvement that 2021 has no excuses for being at least slightly better. As jaded and broken as I’ve become over this past year, I’m choosing to be hopeful. I really want to believe that 2021 will be a better year. The effort to make it better starts tomorrow.
For now, let’s just get through this last day. We’ve almost made it, people! Just hang in there a little bit longer.
Some things really shouldn’t have to be said. They’re so obvious, both in terms of common sense and basic human decency, that nobody should have to be reminded in any capacity. If you have a functioning brain and a simple understanding of a situation, you have no excuse.
Sadly, there are some people in this world who are just a special kind of asshole.
They don’t care what makes sense or what’s generally decent. They’ll just find a way to serve themselves, even if it causes legitimate harm to others.
However, now that there are two vaccines available to end this pandemic, more assholes are being exposed in the most hypocritical way possible. Now, it should go without saying that, given the state of the pandemic, the first people who should get this treatment are the front line health care workers.
These people are the legitimate heroes of this pandemic. They need this vaccine. They deserve it. More lives will be saved because of them.
Even so, some people who are not front line health care workers are attempting to get this vaccine. Some are powerful people with powerful connections. Some are just well-connected, in general. Whatever their reason, if they’re not a front line health care worker, they’re still a special kind of asshole for cutting in line to get this vaccine.
I can’t be subtle or tactful about this.
I can’t be polite about it, either.
I’m just going to say what I feel as someone who has witnessed the damage and suffering that this pandemic has caused like so many others. It shouldn’t have to be said, but I’ll say it anyways.
If you’re a politician who uses their power and influence to get the vaccine before a single front line health care worker, you’re an asshole.
If you’re a rich, well-connected business type who uses their money and connection to get the vaccine before a single front line health care worker, you’re an asshole.
If you’re the friend or spouse of a billionaire or politician who uses that friendship to get the vaccine before a single front line health care worker, you’re an asshole.
If you’re someone who downplayed the pandemic or scoffed at basic health guidelines when it began and still attempt to get the vaccine, you’re an asshole.
If you’re an anti-evolution religious zealot who encouraged congregates to ignore the advice of doctors during the pandemic and still try to get the vaccine, you’re an asshole.
If you’re a just liar, cheater, or con-artist who uses those skills to get the vaccine before a single front line health care worker, you’re an asshole of the highest order.
In essence, if you’re trying to jump ahead in the line to get this vaccine for any reason, even if you’re among those who didn’t take the pandemic seriously in the beginning, you are an asshole in the highest order. You are just one of the reasons why people lose faith in humanity and the future.
I would tell these people to knock it off, apologize, or show some basic human decency, but I have a feeling they’ll either ignore me or just make an excuse. I doubt those people would ever read this. I still think this is worth saying, if only to share that angry sentiment that many feel when they hear about people cutting in line to get this life-saving treatment.
The world is still in a precarious place right now. The pandemic isn’t over. There’s still a lot of work to be done and, as has been the case since the beginning, the front line health care workers who have been nothing short of superhuman, will bear the brunt of it. Anyone who cuts in front of them to get this treatment deserves nothing but the utmost scorn.
We will eventually emerge from this. Hopefully, there will come a point in 2021 where we can definitively say that this horrible pandemic is over. However, even after that fateful moment, let’s not forget about the assholes who did everything to help themselves when others were suffering.
They’ll still be assholes.
They’ll keep being assholes, no matter what the state of the world.
We can’t always avoid them, but we can expose them for the level asshole they are.
I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Christmas. I certainly did. After a year as bad as 2020, a nice Christmas with friends and family is just what I needed.
Now, it’s over. I know kids and adults alike often grapple with a mix of emotions once it’s over. In fact, I’d wager that December 26th is almost everyone’s least favorite day of the year, if only because it marks the longest wait until next Christmas.
As someone who loves Christmas more than most, I understand that. However, in recent years, I’ve found a way to make the day after Christmas uniquely enjoyable and I’d like to share it.
It used to be the day after Christmas was just a fog. We were all still buzzing from getting our presents and dining on so many Christmas cookies. It was always bittersweet and a bit jarring. Then, a few years ago, I uncovered a way to make it something worth looking forward to.
It starts with a good, hardy breakfast. When I began, I did it on my own. First, I would sleep in. I got up at least an hour later than I usually do. Then, I make myself a big breakfast, usually including bacon, eggs, and pancakes.
I don’t hold back. I make it extra big. The diet I usually maintain over the course of the year goes out the window, at least for one more day. I also drink only decaf coffee for reasons that will become obvious in a moment.
In more recent years, I’ve gone out for breakfast at a nearby diner. I often went with some siblings or relatives who were still in town. I know that may not be possible this year, but it achieved the same result. I enjoyed a big, hardy breakfast to start my day.
Once I finish that big breakfast, my day gets a lot slower. I make it a point to set everything aside, be it work, a certain chore, or a project I’d been working on. I take one day to just table everything so I can just take a step back, take a deep breath, and decompress.
It’s even more therapeutic than it sounds. Oftentimes, I’ll use this day to just sit on the couch, catch up on movies and shows, and basically do as little as possible. It’s a day in which all the work I did over the past year comes into perspective. It also helps clear my head for the year to come.
After a year like this, I think everyone needs a day like that. Given how eventful Christmas Day can be, I think it’s only fitting that we use the day after to balance things out. For one day, we don’t get overly active or push ourselves. We don’t obsess over how much we have or want to get done for that day.
Instead, we just use that day to catch our collective breath. However you do it, make the effort. One year, I took a long bath while comedy specials played on my iPad. It was magical. If you have something like that you can do today, I highly recommend it.
We all need this.
We all have to take a step back, take a deep breath, and just let our bodies catch up to our minds.
There will be plenty of busy days to come. For a day like today, let’s just make an exception.
I know it’s 2020 and the holiday have been deeply affected by the overall awfulness of this past year, but it’s still here. It’s still something worth celebrating. So, in the name of sharing some special holiday cheer for such a uniquely awful year, I made this video to boost everyone’s spirit on this very special day. Enjoy!
All the holiday planning and preparation is about to come together, as it does every year on one glorious day.
When the year began, we probably had a good idea of how Christmas was going to look this year. We probably had a general idea of how the year would look in general.
However, I don’t want to spend Christmas Eve lamenting on how bad this year has gone. I’ve already doneplenty of that. Instead, I want offer some insight and hope.
Yes, Christmas this year is bound to be different, but the spirit and sentiments of the season aren’t completely muted. Even a pandemic can’t stop that.
Like so many other things this year, we just have to adapt. That may mean less travel, less parties, and even less presents for those who are enduring serious economic hardship. It’s sad and disappointing, but that doesn’t have to ruin Christmas. It just means we’ll have to do things differently.
For me, personally, that involves relying heavily on video chatting and Zoom meetings to connect with family. We can’t have the usual extended get-togethers, which often start on Christmas Eve and go on days after Christmas. It also means a less elaborate Christmas dinner.
At the same time, I’m not letting it dampen my holiday spirit. I’ve already made the effort to share that spirit from afar. Last week, I took many of the presents I’d previously wrapped and mailed them out to various family members who couldn’t travel. I ended up having to send multiple large boxes, which held up a long line at the UPS store.
To those people, I apologize. I promise it was for a good cause.
I already confirmed that many of those packages arrived. I intend to be with them via Zoom as they’re opened. I also intend to do the same while I open their presents. Granted, it’s not the same as being there with them, but it’s better than nothing. We’ll still be together in the ways that matter.
It’ll still be difficult. I know some relatives would much rather get together, join the family, and share in each others’ company for the holidays. It’s just not possible this year. I keep encouraging them to make up for it next year. However, we have to get through this one first. We can make that process easier by simply making the most of what we have now.
I encourage everyone to keep that perspective in mind as they celebrate the holidays. The world will heal. This pandemic will end. Those are hopes for tomorrow.
Today, it’s Christmas Eve.
Let’s cherish what we still have before we move forward with what lies ahead.
It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year, indeed.
The holiday season is upon us. That means putting up Christmas decorations, shopping for Christmas gifts, and drinking whiskey-laden eggnog will no longer earn you strange looks. As someone who often puts his tree up before Thanksgiving, I greatly appreciate that. Believe me, I’m tired of people looking at me strangely when I tell them I have my tree up already.
In addition to the usual festivities, this is also that special time of year when Christmas specials of all kind start to air regularly. From classic Christmas episodes to Christmas movies, they’re starting to air more regularly. It’s hard to avoid them. Depending on the strength of your holiday spirit, they can help or hinder the season.
Now, I have a soft spot for holiday media of all kinds. However, I freely admit that not all holiday specials or movies are on the same level. I’ll always love “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” but most are just too forgettable. They’re still fun to watch, but they won’t leave much of an impact.
That’s why “The Christmas Chronicles” on Netflix is such a breath of fresh air. Seriously, if you’re in need of a newer, more modern Christmas movie that gives you all the right holiday feels, this movie is for you.
It stars Kurt Russell as Santa. He’s probably not the first person you’d think of in terms of actors who play the big guy, but after seeing this movie, you’ll be convinced. This man is worthy of that famous outfit.
It came out in 2018, but it’s already a classic in my book. I actually stumbled upon it by accident a couple years ago. I have this yearly ritual where I put on a holiday movie while I wrap Christmas presents for my family. I just happen to see this in my Netflix recommendations and clicked on it without thinking.
I’m glad I did. This movie quickly captured my heart and my holiday spirit. In case you need a sample, check out the trailer.
The premise of the movie is fairly standard for most holiday dramas. It starts with two kids, Kate and Teddy Pierce. They have many fond holiday memories with their parents. We see that early on. It’s very sweet and sentimental.
Then, tragedy strikes. Their father, who was a firefighter, tragically passed away and now they’re celebrating their first Christmas without him. It’s sad, but trust me. It doesn’t stay that way. Kate and Teddy are in a bad place when Christmas begins. However, things get fanciful and adventurous when they encounter Santa himself.
Kurt Russell’s inherent charm and charisma takes it from there.
What follows is a fun and eventful exploration of a world where real magic, real elves, and true holiday spectacles unfold at every turn. It’s a story about two young kids coming to grips with the loss of their father and carrying on his legacy. There’s heart, family, and flying reindeer. If that’s not enough Christmas for you, then you’re just being difficult.
I won’t spoil the rest of the details. I’ll just say that this movie has already become an integral part of my personal Christmas traditions. It’s a movie I cannot recommend it enough for those whose spirit needs a boost. After a year like 2020, we all need that. It can only help us as we celebrate the holidays and gear up for 2021.
It’s almost over. I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking that with each passing day.
This historically horrible year is almost over. We’re in the home stretch with the holidays approaching. A new year is almost upon us and the bar for improvement for 2021 is laughably low compared to previous years.
The reason there’s hope now is we actually have a working vaccine. Thanks to the heroic efforts of scientists, doctors, and those who volunteered to test this unproven treatment, the key to ending this pandemic is upon us.
These aren’t folk remedies or something some shady health guru is trying to pawn for a quick buck. Contrary to what anti-vaxxers may claim, these vaccines will actually protect people. As of this writing, it’s being distributed to front line care workers and vulnerable populations.
Just this past week, the first individuals received the vaccine. It started with a British woman in Coventry. It continued with an ICU nurse in New York City. CNN even captured it in a live video feed.
A critical care nurse was the first person in New York and among the first people in the United States to get a shot of the coronavirus vaccine authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York City, was administered the vaccine during a live video event at about 9:20 a.m. ET on Monday.
Dr. Michelle Chester, the corporate director of employee health services at Northwell Health, delivered the shot.
“She has a good touch, and it didn’t feel any different than taking any other vaccine,” Lindsay said immediately afterward.
This isn’t just a turning point in the fight against a deadly disease. This is something we should celebrate. Moreover, I believe this is the kind of celebrating we should learn from.
I admit I’ve celebrated some less-than-important things in my life. Hell, I celebrated the day when comics started coming out digitally the same day they came out in shops. I treated that like I won the Super Bowl.
People celebrate all sorts of events that they believe to be the most important thing in the world. Whether it’s their team winning a championship or a movie grossing $2 billion at the box office, we all have a different bar for what warrants celebrating.
For just once, let’s all re-think where we raise that bar. Let’s also let this be a prime example of something that’s truly worth celebrating and praising.
Make no mistake. Creating this vaccine this quickly is a remarkable achievement. We’ve endured pandemics in the past. Some of those pandemics have killed far more people. This disease could’ve definitely killed more. If we didn’t have this vaccine, or even if we had to wait a year to get it, thousands more would’ve died.
Now, going into 2021, countless lives will be saved because of this. It’s a testament to the power of science, hard work, and human ingenuity. It’s as heroic as we can be without the aid of superpowers or magic wands. As someone who loves superhero media, I say that’s a beautiful thing indeed. So, let’s all take a moment to appreciate and celebrate this achievement. I also fully intend to get this vaccine, once it’s available. When that day comes, I’ll gladly share that moment and encourage others to do the same.
Every now and then, a story comes along that is just so absurd, so outrageous, and so appropriately hilarious that you can’t help but feel glad to be alive. The only thing that makes it better is when the story involves powerful people being exposed as hypocrites in the most embarrassing way possible.
Even in a year as bad as 2020, those stories are still uniquely enjoyable. I would argue we need them now more than ever.
That’s exactly why I have to thank Jozsef Szajer, a Hungarian politician you’ve never heard of, but will never forget after this story. Recently, he just raised the bar for hilarity, hypocrisy, and sheer absurdity.
You don’t need to know much about Mr. Szajer’s politics. You just need to know he’s vehemently anti-LGBTQ and has campaigned against it for years. Usually, when someone is that vocal about LGBTQ issues, that raises some red flags. Just ask Ted Haggard.
Well, after this, I think it’s safe to say that Mr. Szajer has risen the bar. Rather than simply paraphrase the sordid details, I’ll let the headline from the Irish Post do the talking.
A Hungarian politician has resigned after he was caught by police attending a ‘20-man lockdown orgy‘.
Jozsef Szajer, who has regularly campaigned against LGBT freedoms, was spotted fleeing the party, which took place above a bar in the Belgian capital of Brussels on Friday.
He reportedly had “bloody hands” after picking up a suspected injury while trying to escape, and police later found drugs in his backpack, according to La Derniere Heure.
“We interrupted a gang-bang,” local police said, after confirming they found 20 naked men inside the party.
Szajer, who has a wife and a daughter, resigned from his post on Sunday.
You read that right. This is not an article from The Onion. Even they couldn’t come up with something this hilariously fitting. It’s just too perfect.
You have a vehemently anti-LGBTQ politician.
You have a 20-man orgy during a global pandemic.
Somehow, this guy managed to get himself caught. He was either really conflicted, really horny, really stupid, or a potent combination of everything.
There’s a lot I’d love to say about a guy like this. However, I don’t think I need to make a larger point here. It’s just too easy and too hilarious on its own.
An anti-gay politician got caught in a gay orgy during a pandemic.
Let’s just leave it at that, laugh hysterically, and be happy that there’s still entertainment like that in this crazy world.
The holidays are here and we should not let the general awfulness of 2020 prevent us from celebrating. I just want to put that out there because I feel like it needs to be said. I understand we can’t celebrate the holidays like we have in previous years due to a once-in-a-century pandemic, but we should still celebrate.
If nothing else, we should celebrate having made it through this year. Regardless of your religious affiliation or traditions, that’s an accomplishment in and of itself.
I love Christmas and the holidays. I fully intend to celebrate in my own festive way with friends and family. I already have my Christmas tree up and I’ve had it up since the first week of November. However, this year may require certain adjustments from my usual holiday activities, but I’m willing to do that for the spirit of the season.
As I and many others do so, I think this is a good time to re-evaluate certain holiday taboos. I’m not referring to any of those associated with religion. There’s a time and a place to talk about that exceedingly touchy issue. This is not one of them.
This particular taboo has to do with gift-giving, which happens to be the holiday tradition I take most seriously. Ask any member of my family, from my parents to my siblings to even my former roommates, and they’ll say the same thing. I go the extra mile when it comes to Christmas presents.
I’ll spend more money than I should.
I’ll buy more gifts than I should.
I’ll put in extra time, thought, and effort.
I’ll often pester people in asking them what they want, making a point to tell me before Thanksgiving.
Getting Christmas gifts for my loved ones is a big deal to me. I take pride in my ability to go the extra mile and make my family feel extra loved during the holidays. It brings me a special kind of joy.
As a result of that approach to holiday gift giving, I tend to avoid the kinds of low-effort gifts that send the wrong message. That usually means I try not to get gift cards or cash for someone. To me, that’s just too impersonal. It implies I didn’t make the effort to show how much I love and care for the person I’m giving this gift to.
I’m not alone in that feeling. Gifting gift cards does have a bit of a taboo to it, even as more and more people shop online. If you were to give your lover a gift card for your anniversary, chances are they’ll be somewhat disappointed. It almost seems like a cop-out, as though you don’t trust yourself to get a meaningful gift for someone.
I understand that sentiment to some extent, but I also think that taboo is waning somewhat. After a year like 2020, when millions of people were stuck in lockdowns for weeks on end, I think it’s waning even faster. Honestly, I think that’s a good thing and we should use this holiday season as an opportunity.
For many people, including myself, it’s just not going to be possible to travel for the holiday. The big holiday gatherings that so many of us treasure just can’t be done safely during a global pandemic. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t exchange gifts. We just have to be smart about it and gift cards could help.
These days, gift cards are a lot more useful than the traditional gift certificates of the past. I’m old enough to remember how limited they were. Before the days of Amazon, getting a gift certificate usually meant getting something for a specific store. You could only use it at that store and it usually had an expiration date.
In some instances, it worked out. If you knew someone went to a place like Best Buy or Wal-Mart all the time, a gift certificate could certainly be useful. It was still considered very impersonal. It wasn’t the kind of gift you gave someone for Christmas. It was usually a birthday gift and even then, it was often a gift of last resort.
Now, in an era where you can buy pretty much anything online, the time is right to flip the script. If you know someone has an Amazon account that they frequently use, then why should a $50 Amazon gift card be taboo? Why should it be a gift of last resort that requires an excuse?
Love them or hate them, you can buy a lot from Amazon with a $50 gift card. You could buy a movie you don’t have, both digital or Blu-ray. You could buy a video game, although not the latest releases. You could buy multiple books and be certain they’re books you want to read and haven’t read already.
From a practical standpoint, that gift card is very useful and there’s a near-certain chance it’ll get used. You can’t always say that about a traditional gift. I’ve gotten people gifts that I was certain they’d use frequently, but they never made it out of the box. That’s the chance you take with any gift exchange.
It’s still a great feeling when you get someone that perfect gift. I can attest to the joy that comes with that accomplishment. I also don’t deny that the perfect gift is not always possible. I’ve got plenty of relatives and family members who are hard to shop for and often tell me they really don’t need anything from me.
However, I know that even those hard-to-shop-for relatives would get use out of an Amazon gift card. That may not make it the perfect gift, but it would still be incredibly useful and sometimes that’s the most you can hope for.
In a year like this, when traveling and shopping have been incredibly restricted by the pandemic, I think a simple Amazon gift card should be acceptable. Even if you don’t like giving or receiving gift cards, this is the year when we should all be willing to make an exception.
That doesn’t mean it has to be impersonal. You can still make giving someone a gift card feel festive.
One year, I got an $50 Amazon gift card for a relative. However, I didn’t just stick it in an envelope or bag. I actually put it in a standard 14 by 9.5 box and wrapped it in shiny wrapping paper. To hide the contents, I even put some washers inside to make it heavier. The relative loved it and I know they used that gift card.
You could either do that or find some other festive way to present it. You don’t have to be overly elaborate with wrapping paper or packaging. You just have to show a little extra effort, which will go a long way towards making a gift card feeling less impersonal.
In the future, long after this pandemic has passed, we may get to a point where that kind of gift-giving is no longer taboo. It may even be the norm, if only to ensure that your loved ones get something useful on the holidays.
There will always be a place for more personal gift-giving. I don’t doubt that. However, I think certain practices and taboos need tweaking. We already live in a new era where shopping from home has never been easier. Let’s use that as a way to supplement our holiday spirits moving forward. After a year like 2020, we’ll need it.
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